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Whoopi Goldberg Calls People Who Help Moms Breastfeed Boneheads (VIDEO) What do you think of Whoopi's comments?

There is a new breastfeeding initiative
in NYC that I am so very proud of yet it's being met with a lot of
criticism and controversy. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Health
Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley put together a program to encourage breastfeeding starting in hospitals, to help women nurse their babies by offering support and lactation consultants -- making more hospitals "baby friendly". It will also help educate the public and help nursing moms in the workplace.

People are upset about it. And perhaps the loudest person who opposes this is Whoopi Goldberg. On The View
she said to Bloomberg on his initiative, "Very nice, but back off." She
even called the lactation consultants who come to your room in the
hospital to help moms nurse boneheads. There's more ... plus video.

Whoopi seems to think that the women who try to help moms nurse actually demand
that a woman breastfeed in a militant way. I cannot speak for
everyone's experience, but my twins were born at NYU Langone, which
already was considered a "baby friendly"
hospital. There was no one demanding that I nurse my babies. They
helped me. I went on to breastfeed my twins for almost a year and a half
(and also had to supplement with formula) and I'm proud of myself. I credit the help I had early on, too.

Whoopi, however, seems to know nothing about breastfeeding. Just that she hates it. She admits she didn't even try ... and quips that was because her kid was born with a tooth. This was a really lame attempt at a joke. You can breastfeed when a child has teeth. I did.

But the breastfeeding initiative she is bashing helps tons of women.
And why oppose something that helps people? You can personally not be on
board with it, but to speak in such a public forum (on The View
with millions of viewers) and be such an influencer to speak out on
something that helps babies thrive is just so irresponsible.

Watch the clip:

If Whoopi didn't want to breastfeed, if any mother doesn't want to
nurse her baby, just deny the help. Say no. Get formula. Is it really
that hard? Why does it bother those moms so much that there is help? Is it their guilt from not wanting to breastfeed?
It makes no sense to get annoyed at something that helps babies get the
best start in life. Maybe you had a little help to birth your baby ...
you may need a little help to breastfeed, too. And if the moms who don't
want help feel those trying to assist are too pushy, remember it's for
good reason. Any mom who tries breastfeeding and hates it can
easily switch to formula. But a mom who starts with formula and decides a
week, two weeks after birth that maybe she should have tried nursing
her baby, it's often too late. Breastmilk is supply and demand. No demand, no supply.

Remember, breastfeeding doesn't have to be all or nothing. Even just
nursing for the first few weeks is so incredibly beneficial. Even just
nursing for the first few days. Why NOT try? Why are so many women so
against trying something that is good for them and their
newborn? Help me understand that. Have some women bought into a certain
part of society's view that breasts are sexual objects and sexual
objects only?

I really felt for Sherri Shepherd when she talked about how her milk
wouldn't come in and having her baby born at 24 weeks. I love how she
encouraged women to at least try, saying it was the most amazing experience of bonding
when her son tried to nurse. But she tried. It didn't work for her, but
she tried. Moms deserve that experience. Especially in the haze we
sometimes feel just after birth -- a little nudge can be helpful.

When Elisabeth Hasselbeck complained how "the league" came in all
night long telling her she has to breastfeed when she thought she had to
sleep, I was shocked. She has three kids; she knows newborns have to
eat every two hours. They had a direct food source in the womb, so we
still need to keep them fed even through the night.

Maybe it's Whoopi's guilt speaking. But sadly, her guilt and voice
carry a lot of weight because she is on TV. She should really choose her
words more carefully. Why ruin another woman's chance at success by
offering help? This breastfeeding initiative is just that -- help. Help
in the hospital. But it is more than that -- it's help so they can nurse
in public without scorn. Help to be able to still breastfeed after you
go back to work. We need this help, and deserve it.

I say thank you to Mayor Bloomberg and Dr. Farley. And thank you to
the lactation consultants who helped me. Boneheads, you were not.

What do you think of Whoopi's comments? Did you appreciate getting breastfeeding help?

Whats the difference between having breastfeeding help and passing out formula to every mother? My hosp had a nurse come in and check my dd's latch and told me to just give her formula and get some rest!! Her latch was perfect enough to breastfeed for 12 months

I'm all for breastfeeding bc I breastfed my son for 16 months. Where I live it is very unsual to breastfeed. We have a lot of young teen moms who just automatically think they are supposed to do formula. Then they realize months later that they wanted to nurse. I don't want to push it on anyone else either. But I do believe that alot of women are mis-informed or not given the right support that they need. The nurses in the hospital where I had my son, told me to just give him formula( bc I have very small breasts,she did not think I could make enough). I said no, I will at least try first. He latched on when he was just 30 minutes old. And the rest is history. :) He was 20 lbs at 8 months from just breastmilk so I can say that my itty bitties were doing something!

wow! She's a nurse, she should know that breast size has nothing to do with producing "enough" milk. Some women with large breasts can't produce milk at all. Kudos to you for not giving in!

Quoting camdenp10:

I'm all for breastfeeding bc I breastfed my son for 16 months. Where I live it is very unsual to breastfeed. We have a lot of young teen moms who just automatically think they are supposed to do formula. Then they realize months later that they wanted to nurse. I don't want to push it on anyone else either. But I do believe that alot of women are mis-informed or not given the right support that they need. The nurses in the hospital where I had my son, told me to just give him formula( bc I have very small breasts,she did not think I could make enough). I said no, I will at least try first. He latched on when he was just 30 minutes old. And the rest is history. :) He was 20 lbs at 8 months from just breastmilk so I can say that my itty bitties were doing something!

Thank you! I was very determined not to let that get to me. I had a little trouble with the foods I was eating making him a little sick, but other than that, really never had a supply problem (Even with milk-filled boobs, never made it to a B-cup) Ashamed to say that now lol. SO to all mommas, even if you have very small boobs, you can still try to nurse.

Quoting coupon_ash_back:

wow! She's a nurse, she should know that breast size has nothing to do with producing "enough" milk. Some women with large breasts can't produce milk at all. Kudos to you for not giving in!

Quoting camdenp10:

I'm all for breastfeeding bc I breastfed my son for 16 months. Where I live it is very unsual to breastfeed. We have a lot of young teen moms who just automatically think they are supposed to do formula. Then they realize months later that they wanted to nurse. I don't want to push it on anyone else either. But I do believe that alot of women are mis-informed or not given the right support that they need. The nurses in the hospital where I had my son, told me to just give him formula( bc I have very small breasts,she did not think I could make enough). I said no, I will at least try first. He latched on when he was just 30 minutes old. And the rest is history. :) He was 20 lbs at 8 months from just breastmilk so I can say that my itty bitties were doing something!

I think she was trying to defend the choice a woman has to breastfeed or formula feed. She thinks it is boneheaded to force a woman to breastfeed when it may not be a viable option for her. They should not take the formulas out of hospitals. I agree with her. I did breastfeed but I would never force anyone too this seems ridicules and your post is very misleading.

A. Taking free samples out of hospitals isn't the same as taking.formula totally out of them.

B. Op just posted an article wrote up about this, so her post isnt ”misleading”

C. Getting support to breastfeed in the hospital isn't forcing a mom to breastfeed, its supporting a mom whos decided to.

D. No one is forcing anyone to breastfeed, even by removing free samples. The option to feed either way is still there

Quoting Amyinthesky:

I think she was trying to defend the choice a woman has to breastfeed or formula feed. She thinks it is boneheaded to force a woman to breastfeed when it may not be a viable option for her. They should not take the formulas out of hospitals. I agree with her. I did breastfeed but I would never force anyone too this seems ridicules and your post is very misleading.

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